Red is Revenge - Never Before Seen The Stolen Caduceus Exert
by Scouti
Summary: Take a look at the villains ride through time in The Stolen Caduceus.


_How it All Began_

Draco was being quite irksome today. Scarlet didn't understand why they're always put together. Whatever she did, Draco always seemed to be there as well. They even were teaching a sword fighting class together. Whenever Chiron arranged for a game of Capture the Flag, the Hades and Athena team always seemed to be on one team with each other (which is so unfair. It should be a crime for Athena and Hades to work together). Of course, Scarlet and Draco argued over strategy for hours. It happened time after time again: she'd give Draco and order, he'd disobey her, they'd lose, or on rare occasions, he was right, but that did not happen often. It was so immature. Just because he's the son of Athena, didn't mean that she wasn't smart.

Today was one of those days where they were paired up to defeat the opposing side. Scarlet prayed Draco would follow through with her plan. He was supposed to go in as bait, run in front of the campers, distraction them, looking like he was heading towards the flag, when in reality there be a group of a couple Athena children would steal the flag right under Aphrodite's pretty noses. A simple plan, yet full proof. If Draco Khalid screwed it up she would make him regret the day he came to this camp.

So far so good. He was running straight into their line of vision. She waited.

_Okay, now go right, _she thought. _Turn. _

No movement to the right. She growled. The idiot was gonna cost them the match.

_Gods, his stupid plan better work. If it doesn't I'll beat him until no one in this camp can recognize his scarred up face. I guess it's my fault. Can't trust Drake with one simple task—one simple task! All you can trust him to do is show up to train the Sword Fighting Class students, and even that's a stretch._

_Why'd I even give him this task? Obviously his small IQ can't handle it. Seriously why can't—_

It was then she realized she had been speaking her thoughts out loud. Her siblings were staring. Scarlet's face turned tomato red.

"Uh, I mean, he better get that flag and win us a game," she sputtered, giggling nervously.

Her brother, Nikki, patted her on the arm. "It's okay, Red. We all know you're insane.

"Shut up!" she scolded, swatting his hand away.

Then she heard it, cheering from the wrong side.

_I'm going to kill him. _

Scarlet stormed to Draco.

"You made us loose," she accused.

"I did not," he denied, his head held high. "You're plan would've failed either way."

Scarlet glared at him. "Well, now we'll never know since you blatantly ignored my plan, following your own, which did, indeed, fail."

Curse him for making her speak all fancy-like, curse him. She only suddenly takes on his vocal monologue when she was angry. It was so weird. It was _so _her.

His eyes narrowed. "Well, at least I was trying to accomplish something, and partook in action while doing so. All you did during Capture the Flag was talk to your moronic excuse of a brother."

She gasped. "Take. That. Back."

"Make me."

"Fine, I will." She dug something out of her jacket pocket.

Draco looked down curiously at her, fear wasn't in his expression. It never was. It was something she admired about him actually. Hey, if she had to spend most of her camp days with this guy, she had to like at least something about him.

When she opened her hand, lying in the palm was a folder similar to a child proof paint holder, the ones where you click the stub and you kind of had o rip it off and then it clicks back on when you want to close it. On top of the cap was a skull and cross bones and the paint holder was all black, at the bottom of the plastic tube was a half circle so you could place in on your figure. It was a ring. Below the picture of skull and crossbones were the words, "Wandering Soul" in ancient Greek.

_Draco had gone too far, he can insult me, but not my brother. _

She clicked the stub and pried the cap open.

Draco laughed. "Paint? What on Earth are you gonna do with paint? Rub it on me? Ahh! I'm so scared," he mocked.

Scarlet glared, placing her figure into the acrylic paint jar.

_It's now or never, _she thought, and she swiped the pain across Draco's forehead.

Draco's dark-light skin complexion turned unnaturally pale, and his normally anger filled eyes were vacant. Scarlet's heart just about stopped.  
"Drake? Drake? Are you okay? Oh my gods, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

"I'm fine."

Her eyebrows furrowed. "No you're not."

"You're right, I'm not."

"Scarlet," Hades called.

An eight year-old girl appeared, "Yes daddy?"

"I have a gift for you."

The young girl started jumping up and down in an excited manner. "A birthday present? What is it?"  
"A ring," Hades said, he brought it out of his pocket and showed it to her.

"Why is there a skull on it? It's scary…" she asked.

"You will learn to love it," he promised. "Be careful, what's held inside the ring is very powerful, you rub the paint inside across your victim's forehead you will always get what you want. It does not refill itself, so remember; your power will come to an end if its power does. SO do not put your paint to waist."

The little girl cringed, accepting the ugly ring that her dad had given to her.

"Thank you daddy," she said just because it was the respectful thing to do. She hated her present. She ran out of her father's thrown room.

"You're… I'm controlling you aren't I?" Scarlet asked, snapping back into the present.

"I am who you wish me to be. If it doesn't please you I can be different."

At first Scarlet was disgusted by this new discovery. Then she started thinking, Draco and her fought all the time, now she could finally find out why. She could find out why he's so averted, why he insults everyone…but her. Well, they argue, but he never mocks her like he does to everyone else.

"Why are you nice to me sometimes, and then mean others? Why are you so mean, especial to those I am close too? Does that make sense? Don't be afraid to tell me how you truly feel."

He sighed. "Scarlet, I have romantic feelings towards you. I am… attracted to you. That is why I am nicer to you than I am to others. The reason I am so mean is because all my life no one has ever trusted me because people always told them I was not to be trusted. I had no friends because… well, no one thought that I was worth it. That is why I am so bitter and cold. This is also why I am so smart because I've always felt that if I can't rely on anyone else, then the least I can rely on is my brain. That is not all the reason's I am so distant and rude, there is more. Scarlet, my real name is Artemis."

Scarlet giggled.

He glared. "This is not a joke."

She stared at him apologetically, urging him to continue.

"Originally, my mother thought that I was a girl, but as I started to grow inside her head, she began to realize her mistake, but she had already to my father"—he flinched at the mention of his deceased father—"that she wished me to be named Artemis, and being as prideful as she is, could not divulge her error. In turn, my father did name me Artemis, as my mother declared, because I would be a great hunter—she was right about that. Then it happened." His voice lowered, got darker, "I was six, and staring at candle. I wondered why I didn't glow like that." his form start shuddering. "Why was I not as bright as a flame? Why didn't I produce heat in such a way."

Scarlet suddenlt couldn't take it anymore. They would both break down into tears if this continued.

"Stop," she begged. "Stop. I don't want to hear anymore, Arty."

Scarlet smiled at the nickname. He was her Arty, because she was the only one who knew his name, even if she had to use mind control to acquire that knowledge.

"Alright," he said, still a little shaken up.

"Let's find out how to snap you out of this, shall we?"

Luckily, it wasn't too complicated. All she had to do was wash his face using the water from the river and the paint came right off. She about cried in relief when he scowled as his flesh return to its normal healthy color. She swung her arms around him, squeezing him tightly.

"Thank the gods," she said. "I thought you were gonna be under my control forever, Arty."

"Do not touch me, and do not call me Arty."

She laughed in relief. It sounded like a hiccup.

"I am going to call you Arty, and you are attracted to me, so I will hug you whenever I please."  
He glared, but succumbed into her will. "Fine."

That was the day Scarlet realized she might be in love.

_Coloring Outside the Lines_

"Arty! Arty! Arty! Arty!"

"What? What? What? What?"

"I found this short story, oh my gosh it is so good. You need to read it. The guy... and oh my gosh, I just… it was… wow."

He chuckled. "Very informative."

Scarlet stuck out her tongue playfully. "Just read it."

He smirked. "Alright." He cleared his throat, _"'Other People' by Neil Gaiman,_

"'_Time is fluid here,' said the demon. He knew it was a demon the moment he saw it. He knew it, just as he knew the place was Hell. There was nothing else that either of them could have been._

"_The room was long, and the demon waited by a smoking brazier at the far end. A multitude of objects hung on the rock-gray walls, of the kind that it would not have been wise or reassuring to inspect too closely. The ceiling was low, the floor oddly insubstantial._

"'_Come close,' said the demon, and he did. The demon was rake-thin, and naked. It was deeply scarred, and it appeared to have been flayed at some time in the distant past. It had no ears, no sex. Its lips were thin and ascetic, and its eyes were a demon's eyes: they had seen too much and gone too far, and under their gaze he felt less important than a fly._

"_What happens now?" he asked._

"'_Now,' said the demon, in a voice that carried with it no sorrow, no relish, only a dreadful flat resignation, 'you will be tortured.'_

"'_For how long?'_

"_But the demon shook its head and made no reply. It walked slowly along the wall, eyeing first one of the devices that hung there, then another. At the far end of the wall, by the closed door, was a cat o' nine tails made of frayed wire. The demon took it down with one three-fingered hand and walked back, carrying it reverently. It placed the wire tines onto the brazier, and stared at them as they began to heat up._

"'_That's inhuman.'_

"'_Yes.'_

"_The tips of the cat's tails were glowing a dead orange._

"_As the demon raised his arm to deliver the first blow, it said, 'In time you will remember even this moment with fondness.'_

"'_You are a liar.'_

"'_No,' said the demon. 'The next part,' it explained, in the moment before it brought down the cat, 'is worse.' Then the tines of the cat landed on the man's back with a crack and a hiss, tearing through the expensive clothes, burning and rending and shredding as they struck and, not for the last time in the place, he screamed._

"_There were 211 implements on the walls of that room, and in time he was to experience each of them. When, finally, the Lazarene's Daughter, which he had grown to know intimately, had been cleaned and replaced on the wall in the 211th position, then, through wrecked lips, he gasped, 'Now what?'_

"'_Now,' said the demon, 'the true pain begins.'_

"_It did._

"_Everything he had ever done that had been better left undone. Every lie had told – told to himself, or told to others. Every little hurt, and all the great hurts. Each one was pulled out of him, detail by detail, inch by inch. The demon stripped away the cover of forgetfulness, stripped everything down to truth, and it hurt more than anything._

"'_Tell me what you thought as she walked out of the door,' said the demon._

"'_I thought my heart was broken.'_

"'_No,' said the demon, without hate, 'you didn't.' It stared at him with expressionless eyes, and he was forced to look away._

"'_I thought, now she'll never know I've been sleeping with her sister.'_

"_The demon took apart his life, moment by moment, instant to awful instant. It lasted a hundred years, perhaps, or a thousand – they had all the time there ever was, in that grey room – and toward the end he realized that the demon had been right. The physical torture had been kinder._

"_And it ended._

"_And once it had ended, it began again. There was a self-knowledge there he had not had the first time, which somehow made everything worse._

"_Now, as he spoke, he hated himself. There were no lies, no evasions, no room for anything except the pain and the anger._

"_He spoke. He no longer wept. And when he finished, a thousand years later, he prayed that now the demon would go to the wall, and bring down the skinning knife, or the choke-pear, or the screws._

"'_Again,' said the demon._

"_He began to scream. He screamed for a long time._

"'_Again,' said the demon, when he was done, as if nothing had been said._

"_It was like peeling an onion. This time through his life he learned about consequences. He learnt the results of things he had done; things he had been blind to as he did them; the ways he had hurt the world; the damage he had done to people he had never known, or met, or encountered. It was the hardest lesson yet._

"'_Again,' said the demon, a thousand years later._

"_He crouched on the floor, beside the brazier, rocking gently, his eyes closed, and he told the story of his life, re-experiencing it as he told it, from birth to death, changing nothing, leaving nothing out, facing everything. He opened his heart._

"_When he was done, he sat there, eyes closed, waiting for the voice to say, 'Again.', but nothing was said. He opened his eyes._

"_Slowly he stood up. He was alone._

"_At the far end of the room, there was a door, and as he watched, it opened._

"_A man stepped through the door. There was terror in the man's face, and arrogance, and pride. The man, who wore expensive clothes, took several hesitant steps into the room, and then stopped._

"_When he saw the man, he understood._

"'_Time is fluid here,' he told the new arrival."_

She squealed. "Did you see what he did?"

He smirked at her. "I've got to admit that was clever."

"That was so awesome! Oh, my gods, I can't believe he wrote that. Did you know that a son of Hades wrote that? One of my own half brothers. Well, of course I've never met him, but he's related to me! I wish I could write like that. He made a circle. The guy, literally, turns into the demon. Gods that's so cool."

"You can write like that."

Scarlet turned scarlet. "W-what?"

He cleared his throat awkwardly. "You're… talented."

Then her infamous (well, infamous is Draco happened to be in the room) stupid smile spread across her face. "Thank you." Scarlet pointed to a line in the story _the 'There was terror in the man's face, and arrogance, and pride_.', "He sounds like you," she said, her nose crinkling with laughter, knowing he couldn't possibly be offended. He never was, it was one of the many traits she adored about him.

"I would have never looked at the demon with terror," he scoffed.

She giggled, a smile spreading easily across her face. "I know. I think my favorite part of the story is that it's was a circle. Oh, my gods, that story just makes me really happy. Man that makes me sounds sadistic. I'm sorry; I'm super ADHD right now."

"Have no worry, you do not even compare to me."

She laughed, followed by a frown. "I wish there was more to the story. It's only four pages long. What happened to the demon? Is he left to hang with all the other demons that came before him? Who is the next guy? What's his secrets? What does the protagonist do? Does the cycle ever in? Or does it just drag on and on and on."

"Probably the latter."

She giggled. _Oh, my gosh, he talked to me. _Then she laughed at herself. _I'm pathetic. Sheesh I'm hyper._

"That's kind of the beauty of it. Why I love it so much. It's a total representation of life. Sometimes, all the bad stuff in life brings you down, and then a certain person, when he sees how messed up it all is, takes advantage of that and drags you down, down, down, until you feel as if you have no choice, but to become them. You make many mistakes throughout your whole life, and many we do not even realize, I bet most of the mistakes we make we are happily oblivious to. We destroy lives before giving anyone a chance to really live."

"Wow, that was analytical."

"Why thank you. I can be smart you know."

"Sure…"

She punched him.

_ Forbidden Nicknames_

"Don't call me Arty."

Scarlet frowned. "But your name is Arte—"

He jumped, covering her mouth, "Shh! That's a secret. If you ever, _ever, _tell anyone my true name I will not hesitate in making sure you wish you were never born."

She whimpered. He let her go.

"Why do you hate me calling you Arty."

"I don't hate it… I just don't like it."

"Why?"

"My parents… Before I—I mean, they died. They used to call me by my real name. it's just a painful reminder of what I did."

"What did you do?"

"That is a conversation for another day."

"Okay, but I'm still calling you Arty."

"Okay, Red."

"Don't call me Red…"

"Don't call me Arty…"

"No! I'm going to call you Arty."

"Then, I'm going to continue to call you red."

"Fine!"

_ Our First_

"Red…"

"Yeah?"

"Go out with me."

"What?"

"Go out with me."

"Oh, I know what you said. I just wanted you to say it again."

"…"

"Wait don't go! Where are we gonna do this?"

"Tomarrow. Noon. Meet me by the river. Don't be late."

"Jerkface…"

"What did you say?"

"Nothing!"

"I'm going to… yeah, you better run!"

_How it Ought to Be_

"What am I going to do with you?" Draco asked Scarlet.

"Love me, care for me, adore me."

He laughed.

"Hey this is not a laughing matter. I am talking serious chizz." Her stupid smile gave her away though.

_The Good Ol' Days_

They were licking ice cream. Scarlet didn't know why, but Draco had just randomly took him out. She loved it when he was like this. It showed he really did care about her, even if he could not admit it out loud. It doesn't really matter, actions mattered, not words.

She licked my ice cream. Bubble gum, yum! She looked over at Draco, he had a double chocolate fudge ice cream with a chocolate covered cone. It looked really good. Scarlet licked his ice cream too.

"Hey, that's my ice cream," he objected.

Scarlet laughed. "Gimme another lick."

"No, I can just buy you the whole store if you want. You can have everything here… except my ice cream. It's mine."

"Nooooooo! I only want you ice cream, and you're mine. Which means everything you own is mine, including your ice cream."

"Using that logic, everything you own, as well, would be mine."

"Let's share the ice cream!"

"No."

She pouted, her eyes clouded over with sadness. He sighed. She got another lick. He grumbled. She smiled stupidly.

"Happy now?" he asked, still eating the now licked by Scarlet, ice cream

"Yup." She kissed his cheek. "Now I'm on cloud 9."

He smirked.

"Love you."

"As I you," he replied.

Scarlet about exploded with happiness.

_Best. Day. Ever._

"Gods, I love you."

_Sorrow Comes With Goodbye_

"I love you," Scarlet said, wrapping her arms around Draco. When he  
didn't hug back she grabbed his hands pulling them around her waist,  
and then returned her hands to his neck.  
"I know you do," he responded, a scowled on his lips.  
Scarlet knew he was scowling only because he enjoyed being with her.  
"Do you love me?" she asked, always looking for a way for him to admit it. She got it sometimes, but not a lot.  
"Perhaps," he said.  
"You love me," she decided.  
He didn't respond.  
"I'll miss you, Arty."  
"As I you," he managed to force out.  
She smiled stupidly. "Bye Arty."  
"Bye my Red."

_The Start of the Finish_  
Scarlet sobbed brokenly, sputtering, trying to dig the golden drachma  
hidden in her boot. Eventually her frustration took over and she tore  
off her boot turning it upside down, dumping the drachma out. She dug  
it from the dirt, whipping it, her curled hair tangled and messy.  
Tears streaking down her face, her eyes a vibrant green.  
She quickly got the spray paint and made a rainbow, she through the coin in.  
"Draco Khalid," she sobbed. "Camp Half-Blood."  
She got lucky. He was on one of his walks. Alone.  
"Hey red," Draco said, looking pleasantly surprised, until he noticed  
the state she was in, worry set in, an emotion Draco didn't like  
associating with. "What's wrong?"  
She wanted to tell him. She wanted to so bad, but she couldn't stop  
crying, making it hard to pronounce her words correctly. She couldn't  
breathe.  
"Calm down, Red. Whatever it is, I can fix it. Tell me where you are.  
I'll come get you. I'll help."  
Somehow, she managed to tell him where she was. 

_Relive the Forgotten_

Scarlet and Draco were planning on what they were going to do about Hermes. They were heading towards Scarlet's hometown in Bend, Oregon. Scarlet palms were sweating, and she couldn't get her hands to stop shaking. It was humiliating. When she saw her best friend Stefanie... She didn't know what to expect.

"Arty," she said, "If we run into Stefanie—no matter what happens—you must now be seen."

He shrugged. "Alright."  
"You're not going to fight with me about this?" she asked, pleasantly surprised.

He smirked."Well, of course, I'm going to follow you like a sick masochistic killer waiting to pounce on you once you have minute alone."

Scarlet chuckled. "Whatever you wish, stalker."

Then she saw her. She was camping out in the usual spot. Stef and her always did that when one was having a particularly rough day, or when Stef's parents were just be particularly rough…

Stef had cut her hair into a pixie like style. It was heavily layered and the biggest surprise of all, he hair was dyed a dark purple. Her chocolate locks were no more.

_How did she manage that? _Scarlet wondered. _How much hits did she get for pulling that one off?_

"That's her," Scarlet confirmed. "That's Stef."

"She looks harmless," Draco commented.

"She _is_ harmless," Scarlet stated, "but her body guard, Ian, you better watch out for him."

"Body guard?"

"Her parents… They are, you know, a bit protective.'"

"Ah, I see."

"Ian's sole purpose in life is to ensure her safety." She shuffled closer in the bushes. "Okay, I'm going in. Remember: stay _hidden_."

Scarlet didn't have a plan. Which was stupid of her, considering she was horrible at winging things. Once in the third grade she didn't prepare for a speech, and she said the word 'butt the piece of paper' instead of 'cut the piece of paper and the whole classroom was filled with laughter. Needless to say, she never finished them how to make a origami swan. So, winging it was just not one of Scarlet's many talents. She stepped out of the bushes.

_Too late now, _she thought. _I have to say goodbye anyway. _

Stefanie turned around at the sound of the bushes ruffling. "Red? You're back from dance camp early? I've missed you so much! How's Nikki? Is camp going well?"

At the mention of Nikki, Scarlet changed, she lost all humanity and started turning into the monster she is.

'_All you were doing was talking to you're moronic excuse of a brother.'_

'_Red, I have to take you somewhere where you'll be safe. Somewhere you'll belong.'_

'_You're nothing, Child. Why can't you be more like your brother, Nikki? A smart one, he is.'_

'_You're worthless Scarlet. Why don't you just leave this house? We'll never love you.'_

'_Red… why'd you do this to me? I love you, sis."_

'_it's your fault. Everything is you're fault. The reason for death might as well be your fault.'_

_It's my fault._

Suddenly, Scarlet broke down crying. It was worse than her first mental breakdown. She would only get worse, never progressing. She was a monster.

"Snake! I have to find my snake!" she screamed, and started to run away fron Stefanie and Arty, from the only people she had ever loved, and towards the person she'd go through fire for.

One problem: she kept having flashbacks.

Suddenly her body stopped functioning and she succumbed into another a living nightmare.

_"Hey, baby sis," ten year-old Nikki said, pulling Scarlet in his lap, who happened to be six. "I'm going to boot camp today."_

_ Scarlet frowned, making her chubby cheeks poof out. "Don't go. I get lonely without you."_

_ "Mom and Dad'll take good care of you, Red."_

_ "They don't like to play with me. They like you better."_

_ "Pish-posh, we all know you're daddies baby girl."_

_ "I don't want to be daddies baby girl. I want to be you're baby girl."_

_ He smiled down at her. "You will always be my baby girl."He kissed her on the forehead. "Bye, Red. I'll be back when you start going to school again."_

_ "Bye Nikki."_

When Scarlet woke from her trance she was strapped to a chair with ropes.

_Where the heck did Stef get ropes? Maybe her masochist father?Nikki… Nikki… I'll find you. I need to get out. _

"Let me out," she screamed. "I need my snake. I need to find him. Let me out!"

"_Hello," Scarlet said. "I think you stole my phone."_

_ "Ah, you are a brave one, and perceptive." He handed her the phone. " Very few can catch me, even fewer have the accused me of stealing. I guess, I understand though, I happen to be very fond of my own phone."_

_ "Are you Renee's dad?"_

_ "Why yes, yes I am. Most refer to me as Hermes, though."_

_ Sssss… aren't you going to introduce us? Sssss…, a female voice said._

_ "Oh, yes, of course. These are my snakes George and Martha."_

_ He showed her his cell, which on the antenna held two snakes wrapped around each other: Hermes symbol of power, the caduceus._

_ Hi, I'm George, do you have any rats? _

_ Don't pester her about wanting rats, George, you just met her, Martha said. _

_ "I'm sorry," Scarlet said, "but I don't have any rats on me at the moment."_

_ See, George, your making her feel bad._

_ "Quiet," Hermes interrupted. "Scarlet, do you happen to know where Renee is?"_

_ "Sup, baby sis?"Nikki asked, putting one arm around Scarlet's shoulders. _

_ "I'm not a baby," she said, annoyed. _

_ "What's Hermes doing here?" Nikki asked, ignoring her statement completely. _

_ "He wants Renee."_

_ "Oh, I'll get her for you, Hermes."_

_ "Thank you," Hermes said, but he didn't look at all grateful._

_ Hermes eyes followed Nikki, and they narrowed as he saw him whisper something into Renee's ear, in an intimate looking manner. Nikki smiled, heading towards Hermes once again, Renee in tow. _

_ "Here she is," Nikki said._

_ "Ah, Renee, good to see you, my child."_

_ "You as well, Father."  
"I just came here to give Scarlet at gift."_

_ "Me?" Scarlet asked, surprised._

_ "Of course you, my dear. Here you go."_

_ He handed her a compass. "It'll take you wherever, to whomever, or whatever you need to find or go. Use it well. Something tells me you'll need in the distant future."_

_ "Thank you, Lord Hermes."_

_ "Hermes will be just fine."_

_ "So, Renee, you keep your word you swore at our last encounter?"_

_ "Lord Hermes—"_

_ "Hermes."_

_ "Hermes," Nikki continued, "about that. I love your daughter with all my heart and I plan to marry her. As you know we've been dating for a long time, and I am now twenty, so we think it's about time we settled down. I have already asked for her hand, and good news, she agreed. I will take good care of your daughter sir. She means the world to me. So may I please be allowed to wed her?"_

_ Hermes face turned red with rage. "You promised you would break uo with this Devils Spawn, Child. You have broke your oath to me?"_

_ "No, father, I just—_

_ "You just what? Love him. You have lied to me." He turned to Nikki, the boy was pale with fright. "Serpents are liars. You will pay the ultimate price for my daughters betrayal."_

_ "Father, no!" Renee wailed. "I love him!"_

_ But it was too late, before Scarlet could blink Nikki transformed. He got smaller and smaller, his flesh turning green, and eyes dialatede. Scales grew across his skin, and his legs grew longer and his body became skinnier, and she shrunk. Nikki was no longer human, he was a foot long retile. A serpent. The representation of lies, Nikki had turned into a garter snake. _

_ Renee screamed, horror filling her face and she scooped the snake into her arms, cradling it. As she heard Nikki hiss asking what happened she began to sob._

_ "You have brought this on yourself, Renee," hermes spat._

_ Then Hermes disappeared, along with Renee and Nikki._

_ Scarlet sobbed as she ran away._

"What's wrong?" Ian asked.

Scarlet was confused. _When did he get here? _

The confusion quickly turned into rage.

"Let me out!" Scarlet hissed.

"Stef's what's going on? I thought Scarlet went to dance camp."

"I found her in the woods last night," Stef explained. "She ran from me, screaming about a snake."

While Ian and Stefanie rambled on about her, she remembered something vitally important; she had a dagger hidden in her book. She could get herself out.

"Snake!" Scarlet screamed. "Need to find Nikki!"

She thought about how he was just slivering around somewhere having no idea how to use his new body... what to eat… thinking off all the ways someone could easily take his life.

"Nikki?" Stefanie asked. "Nikki's at boot camp, Red. He's fine."

She reached her hands down, trying desperately to get the dagger out. Her arms burned as the rope painful came across her skin. Luckily, Stefanie was not an expert at knot making, so she got it into her hand.

"Snake! Let me out. I have to find him! I have to!

_Acceptance_  
Draco sat down on the muddy ground and gathered Scarlet into his arms.  
"Tell me what happened, love."  
Draco felt her breathing hitch and her body shuddered. He cringed.  
Rage filled him. "Whoever did this to you I'll kill in the most  
painful death imaginable."  
She managed a strangled laugh. "I lost Nikki."  
"Is that it? He's going to be okay, Red. Why are you so worried. He's  
strong and tough, can manage on his own."  
"There's more," she said quietly. "We met Hermes on our journey home…"

Scarlet curled into him taking his hands into her. She played with his figures. They were long and nimble. She smiled. He was here. With her. She could tell him.

"He was nice enough… at first," she explained, "but when Nikki told him he'd take care of Renee. You know, she's the daughter of Hermes, right?"—Draco nodded—"He… lost his temper. Apparently, Renee had told him they were only friends." She was almost done. _I can do this. I can do this. _"Hermes… he turned Nikki into a gardeners snake. He said, 'Serpents are liars, and since my daughter has lied to me, you will pay the ultimate price. Then, he disappeared, and I guess he took Renee with him. I can't find Nikki, Arty."

She was crying again. Draco found himself comforting her, rubbing circles on her back.

"We will find them," he promised. "We will find them."

_Arrival_

"I've changed," Scarlet said. "I am no longer weak… less fragile."

"Yes, I know you aren't that pathetic wimp I met at that wrecked camp."

"You're the one who fell in love with that wimp."

He smirked. "Okay, I'll give you that."

"Are you in love with this stronger version of your wimp?"she asked, kissing him softly.

"That is for me to know, and for you never to find out," he said, as she kissed him once again.

She smirked. "Well, I don't hate you."

His smirk matched her own. "As I don't hate you too."

_Even Scarlet Needs a Little Continuity_

"I like you, Draco. You're constant… I can count on you for your continuity.

"Yes,"Draco agreed, "and you are never the same. Always changing. You're as unpredictable as the sea."

"I suppose that's true," Scarlet agreed. "I'm full of surprises."


End file.
